I stayed at the commons for 30 minutes on the morning of February 8th. The first thing that I noticed was that there were not that many people there at 11am. I assume that people were still asleep from being up late at night. Whenever I saw people walking around to get their food, they were usually in groups of 2 or more people. Most people sat on the East Side (left of the entrance), where the space had larger tables to hold larger groups of people.
There were a few people who chose to eat on the West Side of the commons, and these people were in small groups as well. Most people ate on the East Side though, maybe because it is considered the popular side of the commons, because it has more booths and fancy table decorations compared to the West Side. The East Side tends to feel more intimate than the West Side, which has an abundance of large tables with no decorations except for napkin holders and condiments. The seats on the East Side are generally more comfortable than those on the West Side.
I imagine that people eat together in groups because they just do not want to be alone in public places. I also notice that most of the students sit with people of their same ethnicity. I think this means that they just feel more comfortable around people they have things in common with, even if the thing that they have in common is how they appear to each other.
first thing that I noticed was that there were not that many people there at 11am.
I assume that people were still asleep from being up late at night. Whenever I
saw people walking around to get their food, they were usually in groups of 2 or
more people. Most people sat on the East Side (left of the entrance), where the
space had larger tables to hold larger groups of people.
There were a few people who chose to eat on the West Side of the commons,
and these people were in small groups as well. Most people ate on the East
Side though, maybe because it is considered the popular side of the commons,
because it has more booths and fancy table decorations compared to the West
Side. The East Side tends to feel more intimate than the West Side, which has an
abundance of large tables with no decorations except for napkin holders and
condiments. The seats on the East Side are generally more comfortable than
those on the West Side.
I imagine that people eat together in groups because they just do not want to be
alone in public places. I also notice that most of the students sit with people of
their same ethnicity. I think this means that they just feel more comfortable around
people they have things in common with, even if the thing that they have in common
is how they appear to each other.